Christian Education
CEWeb
Welcome
to the Christian Education page of the American Baptist Churches of
Wisconsin Website!
This online
resource will serve as a forum to share ideas, get information and
the like.
Please share the Web address for
this site with Christian Education workers in your church. I would
also invite you to offer
suggestions of things which would make the site useful to
you.
Retelling the Old, Old Story
October 2008
It is nearly time to dust off the costume and prop
closet and begin to think about what you will do for the Christmas
pageant. Time does go by quickly. I love Christmas pageants. Oh, I
know there is the potential for many things to go wrong and we can
all recall horror stories of rehearsals that lasted too long, directors
who were stressed and crabby, making it a less than pleasant experience.
Or we may even recall an incident when a child forgot a line or two
and no one helped and the experience of public things was spoiled
forever. But I suspect we can also recall some times when the simple
story of Jesus' birth was beautifully told by children happy to tell
the story. It is, after all, one of the few times that children tell
the story to us rather than the other way around. And they can do
it in refreshing and new ways if given the freedom to use their creativity.
My favorite recollection is of a pageant in my home
church, quite a few years ago now. My oldest niece Debbie was about
three at the time. She and the rest of her class were dressed as angels,
complete with wings and halos. She really looked the part! The costume
really showed off her long dark hair and sparkling eyes. Everything
was going well and she joined the group in announcing the coming of
the Christ child. But all of a sudden she looked up and saw her dad
in the audience. She quietly left the platform and went down, sat
on his lap and fell sound asleep. The rest of the story was left to
the other children to tell. But the baby in Bethlehem wasn't the only
one sleeping "in heavenly peace" at a pageant long remembered
in that church.
The story is told in many different ways.
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Sometimes it is elaborate with staging and lights;
sometimes there may be no staging at all.
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Sometimes the costumes are handcrafted; sometimes
they are simple, with much left to the imagination.
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Sometimes the story is video taped ahead of time
so that everyone can watch it together.
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Sometimes the story is song by a children's choir
or an intricate choral cantata.
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Sometimes each character, including the animals
is played by people from the congregation; sometimes figures from
the nativity scene "play" some of the roles.
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Sometimes all the lines are learned; sometimes (perhaps
more frequently nowadays) there is a narrator with characters acting
out their parts without words.
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Once, when one of our children was asked what part
he would like to play he had a hard choice. He wanted to be the
narrator but he also wanted to play a sheep. He said, "Can
I narrate the story as a sheep?" A creative teacher said, "I
don't see why not." And she proceeded to write the play from
the perspective of the sheep. Poet Emily Dickenson would call that
"telling it slant." It worked well and he wanted to do
it again the next year.
No matter what format the pageant takes, it is a
worthwhile effort. Consider a couple of things as you prepare.
Keep it simple. If it is too complex, there
is too much need for rehearsal and the joy of the story is lost. Make
it an enjoyable experience and everyone will enjoy it-participants
and audience.
Remember the purpose of the exercise is not
the perfection of the performance, but the retelling of the old, old
story. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, we
need to hear again, as if for the first time, the old, old story of
a loving God who made himself known in a fresh new way through a baby
born in a stable a long time ago. But it isn't just an old story;
it is new with each telling, for it is our story. "For unto US
a child is born. For unto US a son is given. And his name is (still)
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
It is an important thing we do! Have fun!
